


home (is in your arms)

by violetstorm



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: (with an emphasis on the Hurt), Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, World of Ruin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 14:00:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20408923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetstorm/pseuds/violetstorm
Summary: Ignis wakes up from a nightmare.





	home (is in your arms)

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to the lovely FFXV Book Club Discord for continuing to give me _delightful_ ideas to work with and a special shoutout to Spitfirerose for being my main source of inspiration with their lovely writing ♡
> 
> (also pro-tip: if you don't know how to capitalize titles, just write everything in lowercase and play it off as a stylistic effect :') )

It starts with a shout.

The clock on the wall reads  _ 4:26 am  _ and really, Gladio should have been asleep by now, but sleep is hard to come by these days, ironically enough. After spending two hours tossing and turning in bed alongside Ignis, Gladio had chosen to get out and do something more productive.

He’d been tidying up his and Ignis’ kitchen when he heard that cry, filled with sheer terror. He’s becoming familiar with it, and he hates everything about that. Heart pounding in his chest, Gladio throws the door to their bedroom wide open and flicks on the light in one smooth move.

Ignis sitting upright in bed and even from afar, Gladio can see his hair drenched in sweat. His right eye is wide open in fear and he kicks out at the covers, struggling to free himself. All the while, he’s panting like he’s just run a marathon. 

“ _ Ignis!”  _ Gladio calls out, crossing the room in three steps to Ignis’ side. Ignis tilts his head towards Gladio, but he doesn’t reach out as he usually does— he shrinks back into the bed, drawing his knees to his chest and raising a hand in defense. “Iggy?”

He doesn’t respond, his breaths quick and short. Gladio gently draws the rest of the covers off, tossing them to the foot of the bed. “Ignis?” Gladio tries again and he reaches out, just barely brushing Ignis’ shoulder when he—

“ _ Don’t touch me!”  _ Ignis suddenly shouts, batting Gladio’s hand away. “Get away!  _ Get away from me!” _

Gladio gapes and takes a cautious step back. “Iggy, what? It’s only me. I—”

“No,  _ stay away!”  _ Ignis’ fingers twitch and grasp at empty air. Gladio feels the crackle of magic before he sees the blue spark and his body tenses. “You— you’re not him, I won’t be fooled again!”

That’s all the warning Gladio has before a dagger materializes in Ignis’ palm. He dives at Gladio and if he weren’t so damned worried, he’d be impressed by the way that Ignis knows exactly where to stab him, even when disoriented. Years of training and living with demons has trained Gladio to react quickly, grabbing Ignis’ wrist before the dagger can connect with his neck and Ignis loses his balance. He nearly tumbles to the ground, stopped only by Gladio catching him in his arms.

It’s an awkward position— they’re both on the ground and Gladio has one hand still clutching Ignis’ wrist, the other around his waist. Ignis struggles, desperately trying to free his grip and Gladio’s almost thankful that the panic clouding Ignis’ mind is preventing him from acting effectively. He’s seen how deadly Ignis gets when he really wants to hurt someone.

“ _ Let go of me!”  _ Ignis hisses, slamming his free hand against Gladio’s chest.

“Iggy— Iggy, you gotta listen to me!” Gladio says. “It’s me, Gladio. It was only a nightmare. You were having a nightmare. I’m here, I’m with you, it’s really me.”

“No,” Ignis says, but his voice has grown hoarser. He’s yet to stop fighting, though, still trying to wriggle out of Gladio’s grasp. He holds his dagger like it’s a lifeline, knuckles turning white. “No, no…”

Gladio grabs Ignis’ other wrist, attempting to hold it as gently as possible. He doesn’t need Ignis grabbing another dagger or hitting him any harder. “You’re safe, Ignis, with me, Gladio. It was only a nightmare. You're safe. We're in our apartment in Lestallum, remember? It's by the power plant— Prompto was the one who found it for us."

Ignis' breaths begin to slow and he stops struggling. 

“Gladio..?” he says pitifully, like he’s only just recognized Gladio.

“Yep. That’s me. The same person who asked you out on a date almost seven years ago. It was outside your office, around dusk. I spent the entire day building up the courage to ask you,” Gladio recites. Ignis is quiet, but he allows Gladio to extract the dagger from his hand and send it back to the armiger. Gladio wraps his arm around Ignis’ waist and holds Ignis’ hand tightly with the other. “It was for this festival goin’ on in Insomnia, celebrating the summer solstice. We spent the entire day going from booth to booth, trying out these new foods and looking at all the shops. I bought you some flowers, too.”

Gladio still remembers the sheer joy in Ignis’ expression as he held the bouquet. Seeing that was like falling in love with him all over again and that was when Gladio knew he was hooked. “There were fireworks at night. We had a good view from atop a rooftop, but it didn’t matter— I was starin’ at you the entire time. Then, I walked you home. And outside your apartment, I gave you a kiss goodnight. Like this,” Gladio says, bringing the back of Ignis’ hand to his lips. “I couldn’t stop thinking about beautiful you looked in the moonlight when I was in bed that night.”

Ignis exhales shakily. He holds Gladio’s hand in a crushing grip and begins tracing his body with the other. He runs his fingers along the tattoo on Gladio’s arm, over his chest, tracing the scars carved deep in his skin. His hands finally make their way to Gladio’s face, cupping his cheek, and that’s when Ignis wilts. The fight rushes out of his body and exhaustion takes its place. He grows limp in Gladio's arms.

“ _ Gladio,”  _ he breathes. “Oh,  _ Gladio _ . It truly is you. I... I thought—” His voice breaks on the last word and Ignis buries his face in the crook of Gladio’s neck and begins to sob.

“I’m here for ya, Iggy, don’t worry,” Gladio says. “Shh, it’s okay, Iggy. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

He pulls Ignis closer, wrapping his arms around Ignis’ body. His tears pull at Gladio’s heart— it’s too damn hard seeing Ignis so vulnerable. Day after day, he’s watched Ignis struggle to keep his composure even with all these nightmares and Gladio wonders what was it about this one that pushed him over the edge.

Gladio hates Ignis’ nightmares— hates how he can’t physically fight it like everything else, hates how the dark circles under Ignis’ eyes grow more pronounced because of them, hates how it’s common for Ignis to wake up shaking, hates how he can’t do anything about them.

He’s watching Ignis rot in the darkness along with the rest of the world and it fuckin’ sucks. Noct’s gone, Ignis is tormented whenever he’s asleep and awake, Prompto’s lost his spark and all sense of self-preservation and Gladio feels himself struggling to get out of bed with every passing day.

Resting his chin on the top of Ignis’ head, Gladio blinks back tears. He can’t— won’t— let himself cry. Ignis needs somebody to lean on, a rock to keep him steady. He deserves that much, for all the fucking shit the Astrals are forcing him through.

“It’s okay, Iggy,” Gladio says, repeating himself like a broken record. He rocks Ignis until his sobs begin to quiet down, though his grip on Gladio’s shirt has yet to loosen. Gladio doesn’t want to let go of Ignis, either. He wants to keep Ignis safe in his arms forever, hide him away from the fucked-up world outside. His shirt is damp with Ignis’ tears and he couldn’t care less.

The clock reads  _ 5:53am  _ and the sky remains dark, just like how it’s always been for the past four years.

“It’s okay,” Gladio says again. “Everything’s gonna be okay, Iggy, things’ll be alright,” he says, hoping that he’ll believe it, too.

**Author's Note:**

> What was Ignis' nightmare about? Probably something about Altissia, Noct, or Ardyn. Maybe it was all three. His nightmares always involve at least one of them. 
> 
> They never, truly go away. In the darkness, there’s always something new to add to his repertoire of nightmare fuel. Prompto dying on his way to deliver supplies to Hammerhead. Gladio getting killed by a reaper he fought the other day. Noct, dying in Altissia, to an MT, to Ardyn, in a car crash— he dies in so many ways in Ignis’ nightmares.
> 
> Then dawn breaks.
> 
> He recalls tales about dream-catchers somebody once told him. Charms that would capture nightmares and keep you safe, letting them vanish with dawn.
> 
> Ignis’ nightmares don’t vanish with dawn. Noct still dies in his nightmares but this time, they’re all of the same thing— impaled on his throne, like a butterfly pinned to the wall. When he wakes up screaming, Gladio is still there to hold him, but he can’t tell Ignis those nightmares are fake anymore. They're real, very much so, and it hurts, knowing that waking will no longer bring Ignis comfort. Not when his nightmares follow him into the day.
> 
> Maybe one day, his nightmares will go away— that day, however, is far in the future.
> 
> (thank you for reading ♡)


End file.
